Practice (Tag: Alidia) rated M

"I'm perfectly fine, Rose." Shen answered her. He turned around and felt himself gasp as she presented her gift. The flower was exquisite.
"Oh Rose, thank you. This is so beautiful. I don't know what to say." he admitted. While he may have been at a lose for words, he had suddenly found a name for this lightness in his soul. Love.

Rose smiled. "I'm glad you liked it..." she walked by the fireplace still unaware of the bruises and began cleaning her dress up from the dirt. "I'm so sorry about being late it's that I had to wait until the moonlight guided me to the rose...and Joseph came out of nowhere...and that kiss..." Rose gagged. "Gross..." she smiled as she sat down on the chair facing the fire and fell asleep. "I'd rather have you kiss me then him..." she said without thinking about it has her crystal blue eyes closed. "Shen thanks again...you're a hero..."

"Thank you, my dear Rose. Come, let's get you to a place where you can relax better." Shen suggested as he helped her stand. With a great tenderness, he directed her to a couch. He felt warm inside now that he realized how he felt about her.

Rose followed Shen and as she laid her head down. She was asleep. She was wrapped in her cloak. But when she wrapped it around her the dress's short sleeves showed the bruises that Joseph gave her. Rose held Shen's hand when she slept soundly. "My hero..." she said in her sleep. "No matter what...I'd be with you..."

Shen leaned down and kissed her brow. Of course, it didn't feel quite right to kiss Rose with this bird's mouth he had. It always kept coming back to that; the fact that he looked like this acted like a wall. If it turned out that she had feelings for him, he would tell her everything.

The next morning Rose woke up and began doing her household chores. She was super happy. She was dusting the bookshelf and a book fell. Rose looked at it and the cover looked like the moonlight rose she gave Shen last night. "What happened last night? All I remember is almost being attacked by Joseph, coming back here, giving Shen the rose & then falling asleep...but I did have a dream of Shen kissing me but was that...oh I wish it was true cause I think I am in love with him..." Rose put the book back wondering where Shen was. She was getting worried.

Shen had been walking back to where he had let Rose sleep, carrying a tray for her breakfast when she woke up. All of a sudden, he felt dizzy and his stomach hurt. He knew he wasn't sick; he hadn't gotten sick like this since he was a child. Something was wrong.
The white peacock fell, the tray crashing to the floor with him. He wasn't sure what was going on. One thing he did know was that he wanted her to be there.
"Rose. Rose!" Shen tried to call out for her.

Rose heard a clatter. And she ran as fast as she could. There she saw Shen. She screamed "no!!! Shen..." she took him and began taking him to the bedroom. "Oh Shen..." she cried as she laid him on the bed and she burried her face in her hands. "Please be okay...you'll be okay...you're my hero and I finally figured out that I am in love you..." Rose grabbed the moonlight rose and placed it by him hoping that it'd help. She kissed his beak. "Shen I love you please be okay..." tears were nonstop.

Shen had been breathing heavily as he was laid on his bed. But he could hear everything that was going on. And hearing Rose say that she loved him was like music to him ears.
"Do you mean that, Rose? Because I love you too. Please tell me that you meant what you said." he begged her, tiredly.

Rose looked at her beloved. "Yes, of course I mean it...the first time we met...with the white dove..." Rose looked at him with her sparkling blue eyes and she said something that she had been holding back. "Shen if I'd be with you than anybody else..." Rose climbed on the bed with him and kissed his beck. "I'll love you until the end...if you died I'll died with you..."

Shen felt a warm smile tug at his mouth. He knew for sure know that his feelings for her were mutual. This was a moment he had waited a long time for.
Then, he felt something strange. His dizziness was fading away, as was the sick feeling in his stomach. A series of colorful lights appeared in the room and started to move around him. In an instant, he felt himself being lifted into the air above the bed and Rose. Something was taking place within his body.
"What's happening to me?" Shen thought out loud. He could feel his face changing, his arms, his feet, his whole body was changing shape. He caught a glimpse of human hands as he was gently laid on the bed again.

Rose was in awe. "S..Shen?" she stammered. She was so in awe that she fell out of the bed. But she popped her head back up. "y...you're human..." Rose said as she came back on the bed. The moonlight rose was glowing making her have a different dress. It was white and had peacock feathers. "S...s...Shen what's happening..."

Shen stared at his human hands for a second more before turning to look at Rose. This could only mean one thing, he realized. His strength returned, he got up from the bed to hold her hand while he tried to explain.
"Rose, you set me free. I have so much to tell you. I promise I will explain everything to you." he told her.

Rose looked at the soft eyes she was used to know as she took the newly formed human hands into hers. "I'm willing to hear it..." she whispered as she got on her knees and caressed Shen's hands with hers and kissed them.

"You see, my parents didn't believe in the spirits that were abundant in my homeland and this was insulting. So the spirits punished them through me; it was their pride that started this, so I would reflect it by becoming that which symbolized pride, a peacock. My nursemaid begged for some way to reversed what had happened to me and she eventually got an answer. If I could find one who would love me as I was, my true body would be restored to me. But it would be difficult to do this in China because of the fact I was white; white means death in China, so a girl only had to look at me before they decided to leave." Shen explained to Rose.

"And that's why you moved to England..." Rose said. She felt bad for Shen. She looked at his sorrowful eyes and brushed aside his hair to see all of his normally human features and then she kissed him on the lips. "Just follow your heart...Shen I love you so much..." she said as she rubbed her hands on his chest.

Shen's face lit up with happiness, his once sorrowful eyes now full of joy. Finally, he could hold Rose with human arms and kiss her without it being awkward. His hands trembled a little as he caressed her face. His lips met hers in a kiss. It was a starving kiss filled with longing. It was as if he finally knew what he was missing and was savoring it to the fullest.

Rose smiled as she held Shen close to her. She was so happy, she laid down on the pillows wrapping her hands around Shen's neck. Meanwhile Joseph was planning his revenge. He wondered what he should do. He held that freak's cloak. "He thought he'd steal my Rosebud...no he's going to pay..."

"My dear Rose. I can never thank you enough for what you've done. Being able to kiss you now is the greatest gift I've ever received." Shen said, his voice reverent.

Rose smiled & blushed. "It's payment for everything," Rose got up from the bed. "I'll make us something to eat..." she kissed him while she put on a robe. She loved him so much. She started making some breakfast and that's when she saw an arrow, coming right at her, she ducked but it had a note. "Rosebud...come visit me when we were kids...the lake cause we need to talk and if your freak shows up...he'll get it...Joseph..." Rose grabbed the note and ripped it. She was going to see what he wanted but he'd have to wait after breakfast. Rose made eggs toast and tea. She brought it to Shen's room. "tada.." she giggled.

"How ironic. I started out this morning bringing you breakfast and I'm getting served breakfast instead. Thank you for thinking of me, Mei-gui. Oh, my clumsy tongue. That means rose in Chinese." Shen said with a laugh.

Rose smiled on the outside but she nervous on the inside. She wondered what Joseph wanted. And why by the lake? "Shen...after breakfast I have to run into town...I'll be home as so as I can...I love you..." Rose kissed her beloved on the lips and then she jumped in the shower.

"I understand, Rose. I just hope you don't run into that boy again." Shen said to her retreating back. He turned toward the window to look out over the manor grounds. There was something else he noticed was different about him besides his appearance. He couldn't sense his sickliness anymore. Had his old nanny asked for him to be healthy as well, should he succeed in breaking the spell on him?

In the shower Rose began to tear up because it seemed like her self conscious knew what was going to happen. She sat down in the shower the water falling on her face, and she got back up and shake her thoughts. When she was done she went to the kitchen and fixed the letter and hides it in the moonlight rose book with a kiss marked rose. The same book that started the love between him and her. She grabbed one of Shen's cloaks and walked out. She walked to the lake and there was Joseph. "Oh Rose...you have returned to me..." Joseph started to make moves on her. Rose growls "Is this what you wanted..." Joseph smiled "No...I wanted to get even with that freak you're always hanging with..." "Joseph...you don't understand..." Rose stopped to cover her mouth. "I understand you love him..." Rose smirked as she lifted her hands and showed her face from the hidden cloak. "I do and I would anything to keep him safe..." "Even die?" Without thinking she automatically answered "Yes..." Joseph evilly grinned as he grabbed her and took her to the water. "I knew you would say that now Rose....goodbye..." Rose tried to fight back but couldn't. "Shen....Shen....I am so sorry....he tricked me....I love you...." Rose thought as she was dunked under the water gasping for air. I have a heart full with love for you and only you

Even though Rose told him she had something to do, Shen had this nagging feeling. It was the feeling that something bad was going to happen because he turned his back for one minute. After what happened with Joseph the other night, he did not want to take any chances.
He secretly followed her to where she was going. He was a little hurt that she had lied about why she was going out. But he knew right away that this wasn't anything good when Joseph started pushing Rose into the lake. He didn't think twice, he snuck up behind the man and wrapped his hands around his neck, intending to strangle him until he lost consciousness.
"I do not envy you for the headache you'll have when you wake up." Shen stated as he looked down at Joseph. Then he quickly went to tend to Rose.
"Rose, dear. Are you okay?" he asked, frantic.